MELIOSMA 



MELON 



2027 



it.: Ivs. obovate-elliptic to obovate-oblong, sparingly pubescent 

 beneath, particularly on the veins, 2-5 in. long: panicles slender, 

 drooping, with spreading or reflexed branches; fls. white. Cent. 



ALFRED REHDER. 



MELISSA (Greek, bee; because the bees are fond of 

 balm). Labiate. Hardy perennial herbs from Europe 

 and western Asia, one of which is Balm (see Vol. I, 

 p. 442). 



Plants erect, leafy and branching, with broad opposite 

 Ivs.: fls. white or yellowish, in axillary clusters, some- 

 what secund; corolla exserted from the long-campanu- 

 late calyx, curved, enlarged above and naked within, 

 2-lipped, the upper lip erect and notched and the lower 

 one spreading and 3-lobed; stamens 4, didynamous, 

 ascending and approximate under the upper lip; style 

 cleft at top: nutlets smooth. Species 3 or 4, in Medit. 

 region and Cent. Asia. 



officinalis, Linn. BALM. Probably the only species 

 cult., is one of the sweet herbs: pubescent odorous 

 perennial, from S. Eu., N. Afr. and east, sometimes 

 escaped from gardens in this country: Ivs. ovate, cre- 

 nate-dentate: fls. several in each cluster, nearly white 

 or yellowish. Var. variegata, Hort., sometimes used for 

 edgings. L H. B. 



MELITTIS (from Greek melitta, melissa, a bee). 

 Labiate. One perennial herb in Cent, and S. Eu. and 

 W. Asia, useful for hardy borders. Technically it differs 

 from the long-fid, species of Stachys by its large usually 

 3-lobed calyx and axillary fls. M. Melissophyllum, 

 Linn. (M. grandifldra, Smith), has nearly simple sts. 

 12-18 in. high, erect, slightly hairy: Ivs. cordate-ovate, 

 dentate: fls. large, 2-6 together in axillary whorls, 

 shorter than the Ivs., pink and variously variegated; 

 corolla 1-2 in. long, the tube broad, the upper lip erect 

 or reflexed, the lower lip spreading and 3-lobed; sta- 

 mens 4, in pairs. L, H. B. 



MELOCACTUS: Cactus. 



MELON. A name applied to two very different 

 fruits of the Cucurbitacese. Unqualified, the word 

 refers to fruits of the different botanical varieties of 

 Cucumis Melo (which see, Vol. II, p. 907). The word 

 muskmelon usually refers to the same fruits, although 



2350. The Cassaba melon. 



some forms of Cucumis Melo are not musk-scented. 

 The word watermelon refers to the fruits of Citrullus 

 vulgaris (Vol. II, p. 780). Inasmuch as the cultural 

 requirements for all melons are very much alike, the 

 whole subject is considered here together. 



The cultivated forms of Cucumis Melo are very 

 many, and they are difficult of clear -classification. 



The musk-scented forms mignt be assembled into one 

 group, including the nutmeg or netted melons and the 

 cantaloupe or hard-rinded melons, although the name 

 cantaloupe has become generic in this country for all 

 musk-scented melons. The non-odorous, or at least 

 relatively non-moschatous, melons might comprise 

 another group; and to this would be referred the winter 

 melons, Cucumis Melo var. inodorus. The winter 

 melons, as a whole, have not been popular in North 

 America, and are, in fact, not generally known. They 

 require a long season in which to mature (see Cornell 

 Bull. No. 96, pp. 364-366, 1895). Very likely the so- 

 called winter or late-keeping melons may not all repre- 

 sent the botanical var. inodorus. j-Some of the forms 

 of the species are used in the making of preserves and 

 condiments, or even grown for ornament, rather than 

 for eating out of hand. Of such are the Chito (Fig. 

 2351) and Dudaim types, which are described on page 

 908. 



To the winter melons probably belongs the Cassaba 

 (Fig. 2350), which has lately become popular in Cali- 

 fornia, whence it is shipped east late in the season. 

 The name, variously spelled Kassaba, Cassaba, 

 Casaba, Cassabah, Casba, is derived from the town 

 Kassaba near Smyrna, Asia Minor, whence it was 

 introduced. The seed has been more or less in com- 

 merce for many years. According to G.P. Rixford, the 

 seed of the late Kassaba was sent from Smyrna to Cali- 

 fornia late in 1878 by Dr. J. D. B. Stillman and James 

 L. Flood, who found the melons in the hotels of that 

 city. A crop was grown in California in 1879, and 

 appeared on the markets that autumn in limited 

 quantity. M. Rixford, then connected with the "Even- 

 ing Bulletin," secured a good part of the stock and 

 the next summer had a large quantity raised; and in 

 the winter of 1880-81 seeds were distributed to 3,000 

 country subscribers of the "Bulletin." The melons did 

 not then become popular, however, because they were 

 usually marketed too green; for these melons must be 

 thoroughly ripe to disclose their excellent flavor. In 

 the original edition of "California Vegetables" (1897), 

 Wickson describes the Cassaba or Pineapple melon as 

 "fine, large, late variety, rich, cream-colored flesh; 

 keeps well into winter." 



Another Cassaba melon was sent out long before 

 this by the Patent Office, before the organization of 

 the Department of Agriculture. This received special 

 attention from General Bidwell of Chico, California, 

 and became known as the Bidwell Cassaba. This is a 

 large summer melon, said to grow to 1 foot in diameter. 

 This is said to be known only locally, although it was 

 grown at Cornell twenty-five years ago. 



On the introduction of Cassabas in this country, 

 W. W. Tracy writes as follows: "The name Cassaba 

 was used in this country as early as 1871, when Bridg- 

 man offered the 'Persian,' or 'Ordessa,' or 'Cassaba.' 

 The 'Green Persian,' which seems to have been very 

 much like that stock, if not identical with it, was offered 

 by Ross, of Boston, in 1827. In 1872, Henry A. Dreer 

 offered 'Cassaba' and published a good illustration of 

 it; this seems to be very much like the Bay View of more 

 recent years except that it is more pointed at the stem- 

 end. None of these melons, as they are remembered, 

 was like the Cassaba of California trade today, but 

 were very much like the Cassaba as grown at Chico, 

 California, under the name of Bidwell Cassaba. It 

 seems that the term 'Cassaba' has been used indis- 

 criminately for several different varieties of melons, 

 some of them quite distinct from the others." 



L. H. B. 

 Muskmelon. 



The modern cultivated varieties of muskmelon are 

 supposed to have been derived from the wild types 

 native to Asia and Africa. There is some question as 

 to whether the melon was known to the ancient Egyp- 



